Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation destroy Third World Countries

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African Economic Development through Foreign Investment

Rand Merchant Bank report, “Where to Invest in Africa,” among other business information services, ranks African countries for their business environment including ease of doing business and a corruption index to help foreign and domestic investors identify good investments. Most of the data comes from UNCTAD, UN Conference on Trade and Development, or other public sources but is compiled to help potential investors. Rand Merchant Bank is an investment bank headquartered in South Africa. RMB “Where to Invest in Africa” brochure can be downloaded without charge by those seriously interested in learning about investing in Africa at https://www.rmb.co.za/where-to-invest-in-africa-2018-edition/

African Development Bank Group is another source of economic and investment information, among other sources. You can download the brochure “African Economic Outlook 2018” for free at https://www.afdb.org/en/knowledge/publications/african-economic-outlook/. In addition to private investment and business information services, you can find financial information about any countries or regions through the International Monetary Fund, IMF, at www.imf.org, the World Bank, at www.worldbank.org and UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, at http://unctad.org, which publishes an annual World Investment Report. Most of the information in the private investment and financial databases are summaries from one of these public sources.

Personal remittances that immigrants send back home are an important cash flow into the economy for most of the countries in Africa. Remittances to families in the impoverished areas benefit the most from it, but it helps the overall economy. Let me give you an example closer to home. Mexico officially receives $26.1 billion in remittances sent back to families by Mexican immigrants, mostly from the United States. That’s roughly 2.5 percent of Mexico’s GDP, which is a significant contribution to the country’s economy. Generally, remittances have been on the rise since 2000 worldwide due to increased migration from poor countries to developed countries. For this reason, it is beneficial for developing countries to encourage migration.

Sampling of Top 500 Companies and Organizations that Invest in Africa

Table 1: Top Ten Recipients of Foreign Direct Investments in 2016

Country

Percent of Total Foreign Direct Investments

Year Over Year Percentage Change

1 Angola (US$14.4bn)

24.2%

-11.2%

2 Egypt (US$8.1bn)

13.7%

17.1%

3 Nigeria (US$4.4bn)

7.5%

45.2%

4 Ghana (US$4.4bn)

7.5%

45.2%

5 Ethiopia (US$3.2bn)

5.4%

45.7%

6 Mozambique (US$3.0bn)

5.2%

-20.0%

7 Morocco (US$2.3bn)

3.9%

-28.7%

8 South Africa (US$2.3bn)

3.8%

31.3%

9 Congo (US$2.0bn)

3.4%

7.5%

10 Algeria (US$1.5bn)

2.6%

17.1%

77.2 percent of all FDI in Africa is included in these top ten countries. Countries suffering from violence and political unrest account for the reductions in the table above.

Source: UN Conference on Trade and Development, (UNCTAD)

“A number of emerging and developed markets acquired a keen eye for African assets in 2016, with capital investments from the Asia-Pacific region firmly outpacing traditional markets . . . Egypt, South Africa and Tanzania were among the largest destinations for Chinese and Japanese investors seeking strategic investments in technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), diversified industrial products (DIP), and the automotive and business services sectors.” — Rand Merchant Bank, Where to Invest in Africa, 2018

Table 2: Top Ten Investors in Africa in 2016

Country

Investment

1. UK

US$ 66 billion

2. US

US$ 64 billion

3. France

US$52 billion

4. China

US$32 billion

5. S. Africa

US$26 billion

6. Italy

US$19 billion

7. Singapore

US$17 billion

8. India

US$15 billion

9. Malasia

US$14 billion

10. Germany

US$13 billion

Source: UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD

Table 3: Top Ten Most and Least Corrupt Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

National Development Plan (NDP), which focuses on infrastructure, education, health care, and poverty reduction

Ethiopia, 2014

1,000

Infrastructure, notably the Renaissance Dam

Ghana, 2013

750

Capital expenditure and refinancing of public debt to reduce the cost of borrowing

Kenya, 2014

2,000

Infrastructure projects and repayment of a $600 million loan that matured in August 2014

Nigeria, 2013

1,000

Projects in the electricity sector, which is undergoing privatization, and support of the shift from domestic borrowing toward cheaper foreign credit

Rwanda, 2013

400

Construction of a 28-megawatt hydropower plant, construction of a hotel, and payment of some state-owned RwandAir debt

Senegal, 2014

500

Construction of a major highway and the upgrading and repair of energy infrastructure

Source: AfDB compilation, based on various sources.

“African Economic Outlook 2018,” African Development Bank

The new hope for Africa involves improving infrastructure, attracting foreign and domestic investment, and ending internationally funded government corruption that discourages investment and permits interference by international programs that keep populations low and the rural poor isolated, ignorant, sick and helpless. Governments that rely on taxes from a growing economy are more accountable to the people, so that they will be prompted to develop infrastructure, such as roads and electricity, and maintain political and economic stability, all of which will encourage increased investments and grow the economy. Corruption is the number one deterrent to global investment, so it is important to end foreign aid that props up corrupt politicians, clean up the government and stabilize the economy.

The book: Saving Africa from Lies that Kill: How Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation are Destroying Third World Countries is available in print and eBook online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million and in bookstores. If you like the book, please leave a review online at Amazon.com.